More Than Mere Coincidence
by forlorn-devotion6
Summary: Rikku's childhood is a huge blur. All she has is Tantalus, her magic, and a strange necklace with a Bermecian crest pendent. Regardless, she's happy. But what happens when everything slowly starts to fall apart?
1. Tantalus and the Plan

"Let's see... So I have...5 this week?" Zidane said with a smirk. I shook my head in disbelief, "Yeah, I bet... Name them all!" He paused for a moment, "OK fine. There's Kate, Gabriella, Ashley... Uhm..." I laughed, "Aha! See? So I have beaten you with a score of 4 to 3!" Zidane growled as he went down the pole of the theatre ship, "Mhmm, you name all of them!" I followed him down as I grinned, "Well, there's Dan, Josh, Ryan, AND Kenny! So HA!!" All there was was silence and I started to laugh again, "Relax Zidane! It's OK to admit that I'm better than you!"

We walked into a pitch dark room and Zidane went in the middle of the room to light a candle, "Yeah, so what? I'll get you next week, Rikku!" Then, as Zidane lit the candle, someone in the next room yelled, "Who's there?!" Zidane laughed and I smiled, "It's us, Zidane and Rikku!" The door opened to reveal Cinna, Marcus, and Blank. We all did the Tantalus sign and Cinna sighed, "Wow guys, you sure are late. What were you yelling about anyways?" I laughed, "Oh, we were just seeing who had the most dates this week!" I saw Blank turn red, "Really? So, w-who won?" Before I could say anything, Zidane yelled, "Me!" I smacked Zidane across the head, "You dirty liar! I won! Uhm, anyway, is Boss here yet?" Marcus shook his head, "Nope. Good thing too, or else you guys would have gotton in trouble for being late." I scratched my head when all of a sudden, the door opens to reveal a guy in a dragon mask. He jumped down the stairs and "roared". I took out my rod, as Zidane took out his daggers, Blank and Marcus took out their swords, and Cinna took out his hammer. We all got into battle position and got ready to attack.

Blank, Marcus, Cinna, and Zidane all took their turns attacking while I healed and revived them with my white magic. Occassionally, my magic would run out and Blank would throw me an ether. He was always the one to help me when I was weak, and I respect him for that. Now and then, when the "dragon" would go to attack, he would trip and fall and make a familiar yell of pain. It was then when I saw the Mage Masher dagger on its belt. Zidane saw it too and we both competed to get it. All we ended up getting was a normal dagger and a potion. We both gave up when suddenly Blank went in and stole the Mage Masher. Zidane and I were shocked that he got it so easily and angry that he got it at all. Blank looked at me and gave me this look of saying sorry and I just laughed as he turned red. Was it obvious enough that he liked me? I used to like him, but he's almost like my brother; it would never work.

Finally, I took my turn to attack. Normally, rods aren't very strong and don't do much damage. But, my strength is just amazing that a rod or raquet's damage doubles, sometimes even triples. Yep, I'm that awesome. I went to attack the "dragon" and I got a critical hit when all of a sudden, the mask split in half and the man was revealed to be Baku, our boss! We all collapsed from tiredness and Baku just laughed his annoying laugh, "Hey fools! You're getting alot better! Bwahahaha!" Then, he entered the next room and we all followed. Baku started, "Yeah, you guys were good out there, but don't get cocky! We have a very important mission at stake!" Cinna inturrupted, "OK, I'll take it from here so listen up! In a few minutes, this theatre ship is gonna land at Alexandria Castle and we're gonna perform for Princess Garnet's 16th birthday and put on the play 'I Want To Be Your Canary'. So break a leg, Marcus; you're playing the lead part."

Marcus stood up, "Yeah, but Zidane, Blank, and Rikku are gonna be the real kiddnappers." Blank laughed alittle, "Well, Rikku and I are the distractions; Zidane's the one who's actually doing the kidnapping." I put a fist into the air, "Yeah! Just leave everything to me and Blank! *takes out oglop from pocket and shivers* Gosh, I hate oglops, but I'll just give them all to Blank, so don't worry about us!" Blank frowned, "But I hate oglops too!" I put on an innocent face, "But you're my savior... I need you to protect me..." Blank turned 50 shades of red, "Yeah,uh,well... ANYWAY, Zidane--me and Rikku will unleash the oglops and that will be your cue." Zidane nodded, "That's when I kidnap Princess Garnet, right?" Baku chuckled, "That's right! You're gonna kidnap the most babalicious hottie in all of Alexandria--Princess Garnet!" I sweatdropped, "Somehow, that sounds really illegal when you say it Boss..."


	2. Last Minute Shopping and Meeting Vivi

**See? Frequent as possible... R&R! :D**

I was out on the stage and was waiting for the ship to land at the castle. I could see the castle in the distance and I was getting excited. Ever since I had joined Tantalus, life felt more simple, yet more exciting. I can't remember my earlier years; the last thing I remember was waking up in Lindblum, sleeping on a bed in an inn in the Business District. I was only 13 years old. Nobody was there in the room with me until the door opened and Blank walked in. That was when I first started liking him... He explained how he found me near Gizmaluke's Grotto while he was out practicing fighting monsters near the Dragon Gate. Then he introduced me to Zidane and the others and we all became fast friends. 3 years later I'm still trying to remember my childhood before I was 13. But, I've only recently forgot about it when Tantalus was formed. Despite the fact that we go around stealing from mansions and such, the thrill is amazing and it's lots of fun!

I went out on the edge of the ship and sat down. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the cool breeze against my face. Then, I heard footsteps behind me and it turned out to be Blank. He sat next to me, "What are you doing out here? You should be getting ready." I smiled at him, "I'm just enjoying the alone time I seldom get..." Blank smiled, "I see. Oh, uhm, Rikku... I was wondering; before when you said you and Zidane were having that 'dating contest'... Did you really win?" I laughed, "Want the truth? Nope! I actually have no dates. I don't like that whole 'dating around' thing. I think we should stick to one person. I was just annoying him; it's fun!" Blank laughed too, "You should tell Zidane about dating around. All he ever thinks about is girls!" I shut my eyes again, "Yeah, but all you ever think about is me." Blank quickly looked at me and turned red, "W-what?! What makes you say that?!" Then, my eyes shot open and I stood up, "OH MY GOSH!" Blank stood up as well, "WHAT'S WRONG?!" I turned to him and started to shake him, "I forgot to buy a new racket back in Lindblum!!" Blank sweatdropped, "Are you serious? Besides, just because you broke your racket hitting Zidane with it, you still have your rod... " I interrupted him and shook him again, "YOU EXPECT ME TO GO WITHOUT A RACKET?! WHO DO YOU TAKE ME FOR?!" Blank grabbed my shoulders, "Rikku, calm down... I promise I'll go with you to get a new racket but right now..." I grinned, "You'll come with me?! For real?! OK, let's go now!!" Blank stammered, "No, I didn't mean RIGHT now!" I grabbed his hand, "Nonsense! We have plenty of time before the play starts! Plus, I have MAGIC, remember??" Blank looked confused, "What do you mean by that?" I smiled at him, "There's more to me than my looks and battle skills, Blank, and I know that's why you love me. However, my magic is twice the time better than my strength. Now, hold on to my hand; this will be quick..." Blank turned red again, "Wait a second, who said I loved..." I took out my rod and yelled, "Transport!" And with that, a green bubble surround me and Blank and it brought us down into Alexandria.

The bubble brought us into the part of town where the entrance was. The bubble disappeared and Blank looked sick. I scratched my head, "I take you're not used to flying in the air with almost no support under you?" Blank fell to his knees, "Uh-huh..." I sighed and helped him up, "Come on, this will be quick. We just need to find a weapon store, buy me a new racket, and take the 'bubble' back to the ship and get ready for the abduction." Blank nodded, "Fine, let's get this done quickly..." I smiled at him and ran ahead while he tried to catch up.

I would go into random buildings, trying to find the weapon store, but I wasn't having much luck; I was not familiar with Alexandria at all. I continued walking down the street with Blank next to me. It was then I saw the sign of the weapon store. I jumped up and down, "Blank! Look! The weapon store! Come on, we gotta go before they close!" I ran ahead and Blank ran after me again. There was a short kid walking slowly up ahead and I was going too fast to stop running. Then, we collided and I fell ontop of the kid. Blank ran to me, "Rikku, are you OK?" I lay on the ground, acting dramatic, took out 3000 gil from pocket, and gave it to Blank, "Here, this should be enough for the strongest racket they have... *cough, cough* I may not make it, Blank... If I don't, tell the others I..." Blank snatched the gil from me and laughed, "Geez you're dramatic... Fine, I'll buy your stupid racket..." He started to walk away when he yelled back, "And get off that kid you're laying on!" I looked at him and yelled, "My rackets are not stupid! ...What kid... OH MY GOD THE KID!" I immediatly got up and looked down at the little boy laying face down in the ground. I knelt down next to him and helped him up, "Oh my gosh kid, I'm so sorry! Are you alright?" The kid sat up and fixed his large hat and then he looked at me, "Y-yes, I'm fine..." I got a good look at his face and I exclaimed, "Hey! You're a black mage! What's your name?" The boy seemed nervous but he answered, "Vivi... And yeah, I'm a black mage..." I immediately took him and hugged him tightly, "Vivi! That's such a cute name! I love you already Vivi! Oh, and my name's Rikku." I let go of Vivi and he adjusted his hat again, "Nice to meet you. Uhm, if it's ok, I'd like to go give the ticketmaster my ticket for the play please." I smiled at him, "You're going to see the play? Great, I'm in the play!" Vivi looked at me, "Really? You are?" I nodded, "That's right! How about this; you know eidolons? I can summon fake ones for the play. They're like holograms almost. So, when you see the one I call 'Bahamut', I'll point to the audience and wave my rod. That'll be just for you, OK?" Vivi nodded, "OK Miss Rikku!" I laughed, "Nobody calls me 'Miss'. You can just call me 'Rikku'! Now, go ahead and show your ticket; I'll be looking for you!" Vivi nodded and walked down to the square.

I started walking to weapon store when I saw the theatre ship fly over head. I scratched my head, "Yikes, the boss will be real mad if me and Blank aren't there before the ship lands..." I then ran to the store and accidentally collided with Blank. I fell backwards as Blank landed ontop of me. I could feel my old emotions for Blank coming back, but I couldn't let them. Blank was turning redder by the second, so I coughed and he snapped out of it and got up. I got up as well and dusted myself off, "uhm, sorry about that... I was just hurrying to tell you that we should be heading back now; the ship is about to land at the castle..." Blank nodded, "Alright, you should use your magic then..." I nodded, took out my rod and said 'Transport!'. I grabbed Blank's arm so he would be in the bubble too; I didn't feel comfortable grabbing his hand right then. The bubble appeared and surrounded us and brought us back to the theatre ship.


	3. NOT AN UPDATE BUT PLEASE READ

***This note is EXCEPTIONALLY important, so please read all of it. Thank you!***

...Well...this is awkward...

I'm soooo sorry guys. I'm so bad at this whole updating thing, I know. But I'm finally on winter break from college and I've only now been able to sit down and write this author's note. And even over the summer I was working so much that I barely had time to breathe.

To start, I'd like to thank everybody who has continuously been reviewing, favoriting, and alerting my stories. This account is jointed with my core email, so every time someone does one of these things, I will undoubtedly see it.

And it really does brighten my day, every time. Some people have written such beautiful reviews that I honestly was considering dropping all of my school work and essays to just continue with my leisure writing. Alas...I have a GPA to maintain. So thank you to all of you, really. You have no idea how much what you say affects me.

But on a heavier note...I'm not going to lie to any of you. I am going to use this note to update all of my stories, but the same news affects them all: I am at a complete dead-end with my stories. I mean, I know exactly where I want everything to go, but I just...can't bring myself to segway my conclusions with multiple chapters. I just don't have the mentality or time to do it.

In addition, I'm working on two or three other stories that I am much more serious about...mostly one, in particular. So serious that I am considering talking to an editor of some sort if/when I get around to finishing it. But, before I do that, I'm going to upload what I have no far onto for other people's opinions. I'm going to do this in a couple days, since I only today have made an account there. So, if you guys like me at all as a writer/person, I would appreciate if you would check it out. Since it is not yet released, if you are seriously interested, please PM me or say in your review that you are interested and I will reply to you with the link to the story when it is uploaded.

So, at the end of the day, I guess what I'm trying to say is that...my stories will be discontinued. However, this decision is not _final_. Another option I am considering is writing one last chapter for each story, explaining, as the author, where I intended to go with each piece of writing. I am leaning more towards the latter.

I couldn't just...leave all of my dedicated readers hanging. And I certainly don't want to leave myself hanging. At some point in time, these stories meant the world to me. They kept me _sane_. Perhaps I've grown up from them...or perhaps I just have a serious case of writer's block that cannot be remedied. xD

...I guess that's it. Please review or PM me or whatever to let me know your opinions on all of this. If you're angry, let me know you're angry (but please be gentle, haha...) and if you're happy, sad, confused, etc...please let me know that as well. As I said, your words mean everything to me. There is still hope for these stories. Please don't give up on me...

Until next time, my friends.

-Skye


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